Senators GM Steve Staios stated Sunday that nationality is not taken into account when evaluating players for Ottawa.
On June 22, the quote appeared on X:
“I don’t look at the passport, I look at what they can give the Ottawa Senators.”
It was a direct reply to the question of whether his offseason strategy would favor American-born players.
Brady Tkachuk is still not interested in signing a contract after his trade.
However, there’s a problem. You could argue that the current team has unintentionally gone international. There are currently six Americans on the books, including Drake Batherson at a little under $5 million and Jake Sanderson at $8.05 million.
Tim Stützle, a German national, is the highest earner. Jordan Spence, an Australian, two Finns, two Swedes, and Artem Zub from Russia are also on the team.
He is not apologizing for creating a varied environment, according to Staios.
Ottawa ended the regular season with 99 points and a 44-27-11 record, putting them ninth overall in the league. That type of status does not occur by chance, and it was not established by looking at passports.
In November 2023, Staios assumed the position of GM. He has since built a foundation that includes players from many different nations and averaged 3.4 goals per game at the end of the season.
In the playoffs’ first round, the Senators faced Carolina and were eliminated in four games. That result hurts more than any dispute over roster structure.
Staios’ statement was also noteworthy for what it indicates in advance of the draft and free agency. He is not going to limit the talent pool artificially for any cause.
It’s either refreshing or evident, depending on who you talk to.
A chef declining to use foreign ingredients is similar to a GM filtering according to passport. The dish suffers. The roster suffers.
The real question is not where the next Senator was born. It is whether Staios can finally bring in the pieces that hold up against elite competition, because a 99-point season swept in round one is not the destination.
That conversation is just getting started.
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